Luciana
Skeptical Carioca
Today, there's this headline in a Brazilian newspaper: Crisis improves the "faith industry". It goes on to explain how the sales of religious artifacts and self-help books have increased following a year of economic crisis.
Brazilians have lost 16% of their purchasing power in the last 12 months (as of August) and unemployment is on the rise (a record 12%). Therefore, people are resorting to buying images of saints of "urgent causes", "for the indebted" and "impossible matters".
A chain speciliazed in esoteric and "natural" products (sometimes I feel like entering one to buy, say, a chocolate bar, but I don't, on principle) has increased its sales in 17% last year and is expecting to grow 25% in the next.
Of the Top 10 best-selling books, 7 are self-help. People have also been betting in the lottery 16,6% more than last year.
As the owner of a candle factory, who has sold 30% more candles this year, compared to the previous, says "faith fuels our business".
This piece of news doesn't say it, but it's likely that church attendance has increased during this period.
I don't think I have much of a point here, but I found this interesting and wanted to share. It's no big news that difficulties make people resort more to religion and woo-woo beliefs, but it's good to have numbers.
Brazilians have lost 16% of their purchasing power in the last 12 months (as of August) and unemployment is on the rise (a record 12%). Therefore, people are resorting to buying images of saints of "urgent causes", "for the indebted" and "impossible matters".
A chain speciliazed in esoteric and "natural" products (sometimes I feel like entering one to buy, say, a chocolate bar, but I don't, on principle) has increased its sales in 17% last year and is expecting to grow 25% in the next.
Of the Top 10 best-selling books, 7 are self-help. People have also been betting in the lottery 16,6% more than last year.
As the owner of a candle factory, who has sold 30% more candles this year, compared to the previous, says "faith fuels our business".
This piece of news doesn't say it, but it's likely that church attendance has increased during this period.
I don't think I have much of a point here, but I found this interesting and wanted to share. It's no big news that difficulties make people resort more to religion and woo-woo beliefs, but it's good to have numbers.